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Feb, 19 1924. 1,484,611@

` J. H. HUNT IGNTIoN SYSTEM Filed July 14, 1919 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IMmh---llllhhl LLTITNEEEEE Q Y www -T'TNEH E! Patented Feb. ld, 'ldda .renie n. nutrir, or Darren, cnro, assrenon, er innsn'n assrenmnis'rs, 'ro narco- LIGHT COMP Y, 0F DAYTON, OHIO,- A. CORPRTGN GF DELWARE.

IGNTION SYSTEM'.

Application med July 1d, 19.19. erial No. 310,643.

To all whom it my concern.: y

Be it known that LJOHN H. HUNT, a citizen ofthe United States of America, residing at Daytoncounty. ofMontgomery, State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in ignition Systems, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to ignition systems for internal-combustion engines, and. has among its objects the provision .of ignition uby utilizing a source of current at relatively hi h voltage.

n carrying out this object of this invention l provide in combination with a source of current at relatively high voltage, an ignition timer for periodically making and breaking the ignition circuit, and an ignition coil which is constructed and arranged so that a spark will be obtained at the instant of make of the circuit. means for eliminating the e'ect of the spark at the instant of break in a manner such as to prevent undue arcing at the timer contacts.

Other and further objects and advantages `of the present invention will be apparent from the. following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, wherein a preferred embodiment of the present invention is clearly shown.

Fig. 1 is a. sectional view of a timer and distributor unit, together with a wirln diagram illustrating o ne embodiment of t e invention;

Fi 2 'is a. plan view of the unit with-the distributor head removed;

Fig. 3 is a sectional View of the timer, taken on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1; i

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 1 showing a modified form oi the invention, the sectional view of the distributing device shown inn. Fig. 4 being taken on the line 4 4 of Fig. 5 is a bottom plan View of the ignition distributor head shown in Fig. 4; and

Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic perspective view of the timing and distributing apparatus, certain arts being shown in section, t0- gether witha wiring diagram illustrating a l provide also still further embodiment of the invention,

In the drawings, a timer cup 2G is sup? ported upon a base 2l which is adapted to be supported in order that the timer cam shaft 22 may be driven by the engine through gearing (not shown). Shaft 22 carries vtimer cam 23 and distributor rotor 24;. Cam 23 cooperates with breaker lever 25 pivotally mounted at 26 upon the timer cup 20. but'insulated therefrom. Lever 25 `carries ,contact 27 normally. held in engagement with contact 28 by means of spring 29. Contact 28 is carried by a bracket 30 which is mounted u on the timer cup 20, but insuated thereiii'om.'

Timer cup'20 supports a ledge 3i, upon which is mounted a rin 32 of insulating material which is provi ed with inserts 33 of conducting material, each of which is electrically connected with the timer vcup through t e ledge 31 and thereby grounded upon the engine frame as indicated by the ground connection 34. Distributor roto-r 2a is provided with a brush 35 which is arranged to contact with the inserts 33. Brush 35 is connected by means of aconductor 36 contained .Within the rotor 2d with a conducting strip 37 which extends from the center ofthe upper surface of said rotor to the brush 38.

rlimer cup 2O supports distributor head 40, which includes a distributor track 4l provided with a plurality of stationary distributor contacts 42 with which the brush 38 is arranged to contact. These contacts d2 are indicated by dot and dash circles in Fig. 2 in order to show their relation with the inserts 33. Distributor head 4:0 is provided with a center Contact t3 arranged to engage the conducting strip 37.

An ignition coil 50 is provided with continuous core 51 which provides a closed magnetic circuit. llhe primary winding 52 is connected by wire 53 with stationary con tact 28, and b wire 5ft with' a controlling rheostat 55. heostat 55 is connected by Wires 56 with a high voltage battery 57 or other high voltage source ot' current. Bat

tery 57 is connected by wire 53 with the breaker lever 25. t condenser 59' is con-= nected in parallel with the timer contacts 27 and 28. The secondary windingGO of coil is grounded at 61 and connected by wire 62 with the central distributor contact 43;

The stationary contacts 42 are each connected with an engine' spark plug, one of which is indicated at 63.

The operation of the invention is as follows: As stated above` the coil is provided with a closed magnetic circuit. and the ratio of transformation and inductance of the coil is suc-h that a spark will be provided at the instant of make of the primary circuit. Fig. 3 shows the timer contacts at the instant of engagement, the direction of rotation of the cam being clockwise as viewed in Figs. 2 and 3. It will be noted/that at the same instant the distributing brush 38 will be in contact with one of the distributor contacts 4:2, to distribute the sparking impulse induced in winding at the instant of make to one of the spark plugs '63. primary circuit is broken by the separation of contacts 2:7 and 28, brush will have come into engagementv with one of the inserts 33; and will still be in engagement with said insert 33 at the instant of separation of contacts 27 and 23.l The sparking impulse` which is induced at the instant of break of impulse away from the spark plug, also provide for the reductid'h of the inductance ofthe coil to a low value at the instant of mary c-ircuit is broken. The result is that.

when the primary circuit is broken upon the separation of contacts 27 and 28, the induced current which would otherwise he present is effectively suppressed and sparking at said contacts will not be excessive.

After the contacts 27 and 28 have been opened, and while still separated from one another, the brush 35 will have moved out of engagement with the inserts 33, so that when the primary circuit, is again made'by the closing of the contacts 27 and 28, the short-circuiting device willfbe rendered i n effective. p

From the foregoing description it is apparent that a double protection is provided Before the .one of the contacts 42 will be short-circuited by the short-circuiting brush 35 and the connections therewith which have been described. It will be understood also that this short-circuiting device has a double Y. function, namely, to prevent sparking at a spark plug at the instant of break of the primary' circuit` and` to reduce arcing at the timer contacts, so that metals .which'are ordinarily used as contacts inl ignition systems operating at low voltage can be uSed as well -in ignition systems operating at high` voltage. l

Figs. 4 and illustrate a second form of the invention. This form differs from the form described in the foregoing in the following particulars: The timer cup 20 and the base 21 form a ground contactffor the breaker lever 25 and the movable timer contact 27, and they condenser 59 is provided with a ground contact 59a.' The element-s 31 and 32 are omitted, and the cam shaft '22.

supports a rotor 2,4:n whichv carries only the conducting strip 37 and the brush contact tion to the regular distributor contacts t2,y

this distributor head 40 carries a plurality of grounding contacts 70, each provided lwith conducting strips 71 which terminate tlush with the lower edge of the distributor head 40', as shown in Fig. 4f. These grounding contacts 70 perform the same function as the inserts 33 shown in Fig. 2. This form of the invention is preferable where itis desired to use the conventional type of dis- `tributor rotor. The grounding contacts are builtinto .the distributor head insuch a The distrihutor head 40a' differs from ioo manner that when the distributor head is tact 38 will be opposite one of the station-A p ary distributor contacts 42, but at the instantof break of the primary circuit the brush contact 38 will be in engagement with one of the grounding contacts 70. In

f this manner adischarge-path for the ignition coil is provided, so that its energy may be discharged at the time of break of the ignition circuit `without undue arcing of the Malacca timer contacts or injury to the ignition coil. A still further form of the invention is illustrated in Fig. 6. In this form of the invention-the timer is exactly the same asI the timer shown in Fig. l. The timer cup,

however, has been omitted for the sake oi`Y clearness. The cam shaft 22 Acarries Ya conventional type distributor rotor 24% provided with conducting strip 37 and brushv contact 38 shown in Fig. 4 as Well as F ig. 6. The distributor head 40, shown in Fig. 6, is provided with stationary segmental contacts 8O whichA are engaged by the rotor brush contact 38. The arrangementot these contacts 80, therotor brush contact 38, and the cam 23 is such that at the instant of engagement of contactsg2`7 and 28, the rotor brush contact 387Will be inengagement with one of the contacts 80 to distribute the sparking impulse.'created at the time of make, to the proper spark plug of the engine. At the time ofl separation oi contacts 27 and 28 the .rotor brush contact 38 will still be in engagement with the same contact 80. Thus it Will be seen that a discharge path is provided for the ignition coil at one of the spark plugs 63. 'The explosive mixture ,in the engine having been ignited. sparking at the spark plug `at the time of break of the ignition circuit will do no harm, it the effect Vproduced by permitting a discharge ofthe ignition coil at one of the spark plugs atthe time of break of the ignition circuit. is substantially the same as where the discharge path for-the ignition coil at the time of break includes a short-circuit around the spark plugs, as in the case of the forms of the invention hereinbefore described. c

While the forms of mechanisms herein 49 shown and described constitute-preferred embodiments of the one form of invention, it is to be understood that other forms might be adopted and various changes and alterations made in the shape, size. and proportion of the elements therein ivitlnlt`-"depart ing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What i claim islas follows :-y c

l. lin an ignition system, the combination With an engine having ignition means; of a current source at relatively high voltage; a timer for providing an intermittent flow of current from said source in said system .and an ignition device having means for preventing the vtiovv of current'to the ignition means at the instant of interruption of current. 2. in van ignition system, the combination With an engine having ignition means; of a ciirrent source at relatively high voltage;

a timer including cooperating contacts tor-,1

providing an Yintermittent flow. ot current from said source in saidsystem andan ignil 2tion device having means for preventing the i ovv of current to the ignition means et' the instant of interruption of current, and for preventing excessive arcing at the timer conftacts. y

3. In an ignition syste1n,"thc combination with an engine having a spark plug; of a current source at relatively high voltage: of an ignition timer having cooperating contacts; an ignition coil connected With said current source and timer and arranged to provide sparking at the-plug at the instant ot make; and means for providing a shortcircuit apound the plug at the time of break of said timer.V

l 4. In an ignition system, the combination vvith an engine having aP spark plug; of a current source at relatively highvoltage; of an ignition timer having cooperating contacts: an ignition coil connected with said currentsource and timer and arranged to provide sparking at the plug at the instant of make; and means for providing a shortcircnit aroiind the plug at the time of break of said timer, and cooperating with said coil to prevent undue arcing at the timer contacts.

5. In an ignition system, the combination with an engine having a spark plug; of a current source at relatively high voltage; of an ignition timer having cooperating contacts: an ignition coil having a closed magn etic circuit connected with said current source andtimer and arranged to provide sparking at the plug at the instant ot make: and means- `for providing a short-circuit around the plug at thetime of break of said timer. y

6. In an ignition system, the combination with an engine having a spark plug; of a current source at relatively high voltage; of an ignition timerhaving cooperating contacts; an ignition coil having a closed magnetic circuit connected with said current source and timer and arranged to provide sparking at the plug at the instant ot make: and meins 'for providing a short-circuit around the plug at the time of break of said timer, and for short-circuiting the ignition coil secondary Winding at the time ot break of said timer in order to prevent undue-arcing at the timer contacts.

7. in an ignition system, the combination with an engine; of a current source at relatively high voltage: a timer including cooperating contacts for providing an intermittent iiow of current from said source in said system; and ignition devices arranged to provide ignition at`y the instant ot 'Flow of current while'preventing"excessive arcing at the timer contacts at the instant ot interruption of'current.

8.111 an ignition system, the combination With an engine; of a current source at relatively high voltage; a timer including cooperating contacts for providing an intei-mittenti flow of current from said source ice with said timer and said source and ar.

ranged to provide ignition at the instant of ow of current; and means adapted to come into operation before the interruption of said current flow whereby to prevent excessive arcing at the contacts.

9. In an ignition system, the combination with an engine: of a current source atrelatively liigh voltage; a. timer including cooperating contacts for providing an intermittent flow of current from said source in said system; an ignition coil having a closed magnetic circuit, a primary Winding `connected With said current source and said timer and a secondary Winding arranged to be connected with a spark plug of the engine. said coil being arranged to provide ignition at the instant of current iow in said primary Winding; and means for shortcircuiting the secondary Winding before the instant of interruptionv of primary current whereby to prevent excessive arcing at the timer contacts.

10. In an ignition system, the combination with a multi-cylinder engine having spark plugs; of a current source at relatively high voltage; an ignition coil arranged to. provide sparking impulses at the instant of How of current therethrough from said source; and engine operated means for providing an intermittent flow of said current through said coil, for distributing said impulses to the spark plugs and having provisions for preventing ignition at the instant of interruption of current flow.

l1. In an ignition system, the combination With a multi-cylinder engine having spark plugs; of a current source at relatively high Voltage; an ignition coil arranged to provide sparking impulses at the instant of iioW of current therethrough from said source; and engine operated means for timing the flow of current through said coil, for distributing said impulses'to the spark plugs, and having pro-' visions for preventing excessive arcing at the contacts.

12. In an ignition system, the combination with a multi-cylinder engine having spark plugs; of a current' source at relatively high voltage; an ignition coil ar# ranged to provide sparking impulses at the instant ot fiow ot current therethrough from said source; and engine operated means for timing the iow of current through said coil, for distributing'said impulses to the spark plugs, and having provisions for preventing ignition at the instant of interruption of current flow. and for preventing excessive arcing at the contacts.

13. In 'an ignition system, the combination with a multi-cylinder engine having spark plugs; of a current source at relai,4sa eos .tively high voltage; an ignition coil arranged to provide sparking impulses at the instant of iow of current therethrough from said source; and engine operated means including cooperating timer' contacts controlled so as to provide an intermittent floiv of current through said coil, land including a distributor of said sparking impulses, the said means being arranged so vtloiv of current through said coil, and in' cluding a distributor of said sparking impulses, the said means being arrangedv so that when the current from said source isv interrupted, the distributor is inoperative, and the ignition coil is short-circuited.

15'.,\In an ignition system, the combination with a multi-cylinder engine having spark plugs; of a current source at relatively high voltage; an ignition coil arranged to provide sparking impulses at the. instant of flow of current therethrough from said source; and engine operated means including cooperating timer contacts controlled so as to provide an intermittent flow of.cur rent through said coil, including a distributor for distributing sparking impulses to the spark plugs, and including provisions for short-circuiting the ignition coil at the instant of interruption of said current.

' 16.`In an ignition system, the combination with a multi-cylinder engine having spark plugs; of a current source at relatively high voltage; an ignition coil arranged to provide sparkingimpulses at the instant of flow of current therethrough from said source; and engine operated means for controlling in recurrent sequence the closing of the primary ignition circuit, the shortcircuiting of thesecondary ,ignition circuit,

the opening of the primary ignition circuit,

and then the interruption of said secondary short-circuit.

17. In an ignition system, the combination With a multi-cylinder engine having spark lugs; .of a current source at rela-` tively igh voltage; an ignition coil arranged to provide lsparking' impulses at the instant of iow of current therethrough from said source; and engine operated means for controlling in recurrent sequence the closing `of the primary ignition circuit, the short# circuiting of the secondary ignition circuit, the opening of the primary ignition circuit, and then the interruption of said secondary iaeaeoe short-circuit, said means including provisions for distributing sparking impulses at the instant of closing of said primary circuit, said distributing provisions being inoperative whenl said primary circuit is interrupted.

18. in an ignition system, the combination with an engine having a spark plug; of a current source at relatively high voltage; an ignition timer having make and break contacts; an ignition coil connected with said current source and timer and arranged to provide sparking at the plug at the instant of make; and means providing a discharge path for said coil at the instant of break of said timer.

19. In an ignition system, the combination with an engine; of a current source at relatively high voltage; a timer having cooperatin contact for providing an intermittent 0W of current from said source in said system; and ignition devices arranged to provide ignition at the instant of fiow of current and having provisions for preventing undue arcing of the timer contacts at the instant oi" interruption of current.

20. ln an ignition system, the combination with an engine having ignition means; of a current source of relatively high voltage; a timer for providing `an intermittent fiow of current from said source in said system; and an ignition device connected with said current source and said timer and having means for conducting current to the ignition means at the instant of flow of current.

ln testimony whereof l ailix my signature.

JUHN H. HUNT.

A. C. LEHMAN. 

